Chapter 82: Is It a Romantic Debt?

Once the leads were confirmed, the film's pre-production work could move forward rapidly.

Cao Yang had originally intended to shoot this film in Jingcheng, but he never expected that Ludongdao would somehow get wind of the news and specifically contact him.

They shouted: "Subsidies! Subsidies! We have financial subsidies, Director Cao, come quickly!"

It wasn't that Cao Yang valued the subsidies; it was mainly that Ludongdao was too enthusiastic, and since his previous two films were both shot there, he had developed an attachment to the place...

Coming, coming.

Thus, Cao Yang arranged for Cheng Jianye and Gu Changwei to take a few crew members and head over first to find suitable filming locations.

While they were at it, he had Cheng Jianye contact a few advertisers so that the cars appearing in the film, the piano the female lead uses to run her piano training class, and the drinks used in several dining scenes could all be quietly placed as advertisements without affecting the film's viewing experience.

Furthermore, he had Cheng Jianye explicitly tell the car manufacturer that the film was headed to Cannes, but that the car would break down at the beginning of the film; if they could accept that, they should send a quote, and if not, forget it.

Not two days later, Cheng Jianye called to say that the domestic brand Qirui Auto had offered a high price and asked if he should take it.

Cao Yang asked if they weren't afraid that the car breaking down would affect their brand.

Cheng Jianye said he had already told them, and they said it didn't matter; after all, the streets were already full of people saying, "Qirui, Qirui, line up to repair," and what they wanted was to quickly build name recognition—everything else was secondary.

Cao Yang was actually familiar with that meme.

Simply put, after Qirui started manufacturing, they didn't have a car sales license and could only "foster" their cars with Shanghai Auto; after a brief partnership, they split, leaving the market without any manufacturer-authorized repair shops.

Coupled with the fact that the early Qirui models did indeed have many minor issues and were hard to get serviced by the manufacturer, the meme was born.

What was there to hesitate about? The price was right, and the other party didn't mind—sign the contract.

Cao Yang thought about it afterward; domestic brands had it tough these days, and since they were generous with their money, he might as well help out with a simple favor.

So, he changed the script so that instead of the car breaking down, it simply ran out of gas.

The female lead returning to a small town was meant to be an act of escapism, so it was plausible that she was preoccupied and didn't notice the fuel gauge until the car ran out of gas.

This minor change didn't affect the plot and, on the contrary, could highlight the female lead's personality and state of mind.

Then, the Ludongdao local government heard there were scenes in the film involving drinks at a dinner, so they acted as a go-between for Ludongdao Beer and closed another product placement deal.

The piano advertisement was snapped up by an old-established piano company from Yangcheng.

Once all the contracts were signed and tallied, the revenue from product placement alone meant the film had already recouped its entire budget and had a very, very large surplus!

These days, it really is very, very easy for a big director to make money.

Before the film had even started shooting, the foreign rights had sold for nearly 6 million USD, and with the advertising revenue added in, that was tens of millions in income.

And this was pure profit.

At any time and in any industry, the income at the top of the pyramid is extraordinarily substantial.

The film's pre-production was progressing in an orderly fashion, and several of the main roles were mostly confirmed.

The female lead was Gao Yuanyuan, the male lead was Wu Qihua, the role of the priest went to Liao Qizhi, and the kindergarten principal went to Wang Jinsong. Teacher Wang was so happy he grinned from ear to ear and treated a few close colleagues to a meal in advance.

Huang Lei happened to run into them, so he tagged along for a free meal.

During the meal, everyone was puzzled as to why Wang Jinsong was treating them for no reason, and they even teased him, asking if he had found a second spring in his life.

Wang Jinsong laughed, waved his hands to deny it, and finally sighed casually, saying he might need to take leave to film a movie in a while, so he wanted to treat everyone to a meal before he left and ask them to help look after his students.

Since the conversation had reached this point, someone was bound to ask what movie he was going to film.

Teacher Wang pretended to ponder for a moment and said it was just a small supporting role, though it had a bit of screen time—oh right, it was Director Cao's new film...

For a moment, everyone was laughing and joking on the surface, but inside, they all felt bitter—why? Why do you, you old geezer, get to exclusively enjoy Director Cao's favor?

You ungrateful wretch!

Huang Lei was even more envious, jealous, and hateful; his teeth itched with anger, and he took a bite of food, crunching it loudly and forcefully without regard for his image—you old sell-out!

In the end, everyone tacitly ordered a few more bottles of good wine, enough to make Wang Jinsong's heart ache for a while.

The female lead's child needed to be a kid around five years old, boy or girl didn't matter.

Cao Yang didn't put out a casting call and instead had the assistant director, Liu Shan, find one in Ludongdao.

Otherwise, if he had put out the word, so many age-appropriate second-generation industry kids would have broken down the door to debut under such a young Golden Lion-winning director. Deciding who to use and who not to use would have been a headache, and he couldn't be bothered to deal with it one by one.

As for the remaining less important roles, aside from those where the age didn't fit, Cao Yang planned to give them all to current students at the Beijing Film Academy.

Then, he received a call from Old Tian.

Old Tian was stuttering on the phone, seemingly finding it hard to speak.

Cao Yang found it strange; this didn't seem like Old Tian's style, so he said, "Senior brother, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't play these 'hard-to-get' games with me."

Old Tian relaxed immediately and said somewhat embarrassedly on the other end of the line, "I owed someone a favor, and now they've come to me, asking me to push an actress to you."

"A romantic debt?"

"Get lost, get lost! I never owe romantic debts; I usually pay them off on the spot... pfft, you brat, you've led me into a ditch."

Old Tian laughed and scolded him, then sighed and said, "I really don't want to push this person onto you, but I have no choice; I have a favor to return."

"Alright, senior brother, just tell me who it is. But let's get this straight: if she wants the female lead, even if Teacher Situ comes to plead for her, there's no chance."

"Mm, mm, I know. I've already made that clear. The other party just wants to establish a connection with you; if the lead doesn't work, a supporting role is fine. Once I make this call, the favor is considered returned."

!

"Who is it? So well-connected?"

"Xu Jinglei."

Cao Yang was silent for a moment. This woman was truly something; she could even pull strings all the way to Old Tian. Could it be the influence of the so-called 'Jing Circle'?

That's how it is in this country—a society of favors. As long as you owe a favor, even if it's an incredibly difficult request, there's no way around it.

Take Cao Yang, for instance—does he owe favors?

He certainly does: first to Old Situ, and second to Old Tian.

Don't talk about whether they've been repaid; the grace of mentorship is something you can never fully clear.

Principle issues certainly cannot be broken; for example, the film's lead roles—that is something no one can interfere with.

But for a supporting role, if Old Tian speaks up, he definitely has enough face with Cao Yang.

"Senior brother, since you've asked, I've agreed. The favor you owed the other person is considered repaid, right?"

"Mm..."

"Alright then, senior brother, tell her I've agreed—there's a supporting role with not much screen time I can give her. Then, tell her that the female lead of this film is Gao Yuanyuan. She'll understand what that means."

Old Tian was silent for a long time, then finally sighed, "Cao Yang, I..."

"Alright, senior brother, when did you become so wishy-washy? There's no need for that between us. You don't need to act like a woman and play the emotional card with me... just spit it out if you have something to say."

"Ugh, you... get lost, I'm hanging up."

"Alright, hurry off to your romantic debt."

"You brat..."

Listening to the "beep-beep" sound on the phone, Old Tian sighed again. Living in this world, damn it, one really isn't the master of one's own fate!

To hell with it.

Cao Yang having Old Tian tell the other party that the female lead was Gao Yuanyuan was, in effect, a rejection.

Do you have the nerve?

A few months ago, in *Spring Subway*, Gao Yuanyuan was still a small supporting role in your film, playing second fiddle to you, the kind with barely any lines.

Now, turning around and asking you to play second fiddle to Gao Yuanyuan—also the kind with barely any lines—do you still have the face to come?

Actually, if the goal was to help Gao Yuanyuan get into character, having Xu Jinglei hanging around the set would be the best choice; it would definitely make Gao Yuanyuan nervous and filled with deep-seated resentment.

Cao Yang could do something like that too.

But it depends on the person.

Cao Yang is a petty person who holds grudges.

(End of chapter)